It could be said that Shang Xia somewhat had experience creating talismans like that.
When he successfully comprehended his Chaos Essence Lightning Palm, he created several Lightning Charms with the use of Lightning Wood Boards. Those lightning charms could be considered rank one talismans, and even though the power contained in each couldn’t match up to the Chaos Essence Lightning Palm if he executed the technique personally, it was impressive nonetheless. If he managed to catch Martial Extremity Realm cultivators off guard, he would be able to seriously injure them!
After taking a break, he managed to complete the other half of the talisman.
He might have created a new type of rank two talisman, but his instincts told him that it would definitely be several times stronger than any of the rank two talismans he made previously.
Successfully creating the Ice and Fire Twin Intent Sword Talisman, Shang Xia felt really good about himself. Recovering to his peak state, Shang Xia decided to create sword talismans out of the other pairs of sword qi.
Once again, he overestimated his abilities. He didn’t succeed on his first try, or the second try for that matter. Destroying his third piece of talisman jade, Shang Xia finally discovered that creating talismans like that wouldn’t be as easy as he thought. He only succeeded on his fourth try. This time, he sealed softness and strength qi into the second talisman. After he was done, he felt a wave of weakness hitting his body.
He might be exhausted, but he had proven that his idea was feasible. With the creation of a second talisman like that, Shang Xia discovered that the first one he made wasn’t a fluke.
Luckily, he gained an insane amount of money during his trip too. He had enough silver essence to support his crazy spending on his talisman experiments.
In the past few days, Shang Xia didn’t waste a single second. Even when he slept, he did so in a seated position while circulating his inner qi. Now that he exhausted himself after completing the talisman, taking a proper nap didn’t sound too bad. Crawling onto a stone bed nearby, he started to drift off into sleep.
However, an idea flashed through his mind right before he fell asleep. He could just seal a single type of sword qi into one talisman and used them however he liked! Well, too bad he was overwhelmed by his fatigue and the world around him turned dark.
He had no idea how long he slept for. Feeling extremely energized when he woke up, a knocking soon appeared at his door.
Shang Quan came over to deliver a batch of rank two talisman paper and rank two ink.
“Uncle Quan, about the thing in the past…” Shang Xia asked.
“Are you talking about the eighty silver essence you owe Sun Haiwei? Relax. I gave it to her a long time ago. It’s your money anyway. I sold off some lower leveled treasures and herbs you handed me and gave her a part of the proceeds.” Shang Quan chuckled before tossing a bag over. From the rattling of the bag, Shang Xia could tell that a substantial amount of silver essence was contained within.
Shang Quan continued, “Other than the money used to purchase your talisman paper and ingredients to make rank two ink, everything is in there. There should be around three hundred silver essence.”
Weighing the bag in his hand, a grin appeared on Shang Xia’s face. “Hah! Looks like Uncle Quan is really looking out for me. I only gave you the rank one and two items to sell but there’s so much money leftover…”
Waving his hand slightly, Shang Quan explained, “Not really. I didn’t give you any special treatment here. After so many great battles, the surviving disciples managed to gain a whole lot. Many of their cultivation improved, and many of their weapons were damaged in the wars. All of them were trying to get their hands on the stuff you gave me. The demand for rank one and two treasures went through the roof! I managed to sell all of them for a good price. Oh right, the situation in the Tongyou City seems pretty interesting too.”
“Tongyou City? Oh right, what happened back in the institution?” Shang Xia asked.
He had been in seclusion the whole time and he didn’t know what was going on on the Tongyou Peak itself, much less the city.
“I heard that many native cultivators of the Tongyou City have returned. Cultivators from other continents have also streamed into the city, resulting in a three-way standoff. Our Tongyou City isn’t the only one affected either. The surrounding cities have also turned slightly chaotic. Deputy Patriarch Ji left several days ago to suppress the disorder in the city. According to our sources, Instructor Liu Qinglan and Kang Ci will be returning to the city too.” Shang Quan explained.
Shang Xia frowned. “Why didn’t Deputy Patriarch Yun return? She’s holding the Hidden Frost Sword and she should be enough to stop all the chaos back in the city!”
“Ever since the battle on the Four Spiritual Peak, Deputy Patriarch Yun stationed herself there. She shouldn’t be returning to the city anytime soon.”
Shang Xia quickly understood what his uncle implied and his expression sank. “Are the four great races starting to move again so quickly?”
Shaking his head, Shang Quan sighed, “I’m not too sure. She might also be protecting the Coral Forest to prevent any unexpected situation from arising when it’s being shifted.”
As the two of them were speaking, the ground under their feet started to shake. Thinking it was a slight tremor, the two of them ignored it.
As the shaking became more and more violent, the two of them could no longer sit still. There was even a deep rumbling coming from down under.
Glancing at each other, the two of them decided to step out from the cultivation chamber. They discovered that the main peak wasn’t the only thing that was shaking. The six auxiliary peaks around them were also quaking violently. Even the skies above weren't spared.
“What’s going on?” Shang Quan muttered softly.
Shang Xia realized that he wasn’t wrong when he thought that something was different about the Tongyou Peak.
“The entire region is moving.” A voice interrupted their thoughts and Shang Xi appeared behind them.
“Wait. We’re rising into the air and moving?” Shang Xia widened his eyes in surprise. “Isn’t our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak supposed to be locations in the battlefield between two worlds that will remain where they stand? Why are we moving all of a sudden?”
Shang Xi explained, “You’re right. When our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak were established, we chose a location close to the entrance to our world. However, the distance between our territories has been inching closer and closer ever so slightly. Now that twenty years have passed, the distance between us has been shortened to less than a thousand miles! Actually, we have been preparing for a huge battle that would lead to one of the two sides being wiped out for several years now! We estimated that in three to five years, the distance between the two mountain ranges would become so close that we would have no choice but to fight! Luckily for us, the Four Spiritual Peak has been destroyed.”
“Why would our Tongyou Peak and the Four Spiritual Peak inch forward anyway? Is there a reason behind it?” Shang Xia asked.
After thinking about it for a moment, Shang Xi frowned. “This entire thing might be a contest to see which world is stronger. I don’t know much of the details, but all I know is that any side that manages to wipe out the other world from the battlefield between two worlds would receive a lot of benefits. Patriarch Kou should be the clearest about the situation. He might have shared the reason with the deputy patriarchs but other than that, nobody really knows. Even the Martial Extermination Realm experts of the institution don’t know the full story. Everything I told you came from your Grandpa Ke.”
Nodding slightly, Shang Xia followed up with another question. “Oh right, why are we rising into the air anyway?”
“I heard that they brought back some sort of broken rank five treasure the other day. They’re probably using it alongside some sort of formation to do this.” Shang Xi replied.
A light flashed through Shang Xia’s eyes. A broken rank five treasure seemed familiar. It might be the broken fate dipper he handed over to Shang Ke.
Turning to stare at Shang Xia, Shang Xi asked, “The institution will be sending a convoy back to the city soon. Fifth Uncle plans on leading the members of our clan back personally. Do you wish to return with them?”
“Yeah.” Shang Xia replied after thinking for a second.